My Thoughts on Accepting Transgender (LGBT)

Warning: LGBT activists are not advisable to read this entry.

I’m pretty much sure that most of you have already known about this latest issue regarding a minister that publicize his statement and opinion about transgender. First of all, yeah, we need to know the difference between transgender and LGBT before commenting on the issue. 

I agree with his statement that transgender is not the same as LGBT, but technically it is a part of LGBT. LGBT is the acronym for Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender. Therefore, transgender is one of the groups in LGBT, but I think what the minister wants to deliver was just problems of transgender instead of LGBT in general.

I might not be the right person to speak about the issue, neither do I am an academic person that suits the topic. I’m just writing this as a citizen of Malaysia and this is just my own opinion. Feel free to disagree. I hope this will not be considered as me criticizing the government, minister or things like that. I’m not really into politics. You can say that I’m the type that agree with the right thing, and disagree with things that I think is wrong. Anyway, I’m just going to comment on some statements he said.

1. “If the public continue to label them, that’s why you have 80% of transgender involved in the sex world.”

I never know by putting labels on people will actually lead them to be a sex worker? So does this mean that if we stop putting labels on LGBT, they will stop working in the sex world? I don’t think so. I think having sex is an individual desire, which is not quite related with how public labels you. 

There are also people that have the same concern as the LGBT community, such as drug dealers, drunkards, gangsters or any other types of groups. These groups are also not receiving a good treatment from the society. It is not always about the LGBTs. They also have the difficulties to apply for jobs and fit in the society, but some of them strive hard to get job offers and I believe that is the most essential key to succeed. Effort.

You might be thinking that transgender (trans) and the other groups are different, but I don’t think so. I know many trans that succeed in legal jobs such as make-up artist, fashion designer or artist manager. But I’m pretty much sure there are also many other jobs that accept trans. The question is whether they strive hard enough to get the job or they give up.

Well of course, this also depends on what job that they apply. If he is a guy wearing as a girl and apply at my mum’s salon (for women only) for sure we will not hesitate to reject him. But if you apply a job at a public salon (men and women) I don’t think there would be much problem with that since I used to see some trans working at a salon or barber shop before.

It is true that the public might discriminate them a lot, but my point is, the same goes for the other groups (drug dealers, drunkards). There are people who receive the same treatment in the world. But everything ends when trans gave up and work in the sex industry. 

It’s not really about being discriminated; it’s about how strong trans are to be able to survive in this world. Everyone has their own hardships. They should bare with it. If they are not strong enough to face the discrimination, then stop being a trans for God’s sake.

2. “People go to the toilet because the call of the Mother Nature. So does it bother you where they go?”

Are you being serious? Of course it bothers us. I’m talking from a woman perspective. If I ever see a trans in the toilet, it would be really awkward. He’s a guy and we women have this thing called aurat, personal space and ikhtilat that we need to take care of. I mean, washing your hands or adjusting your shawl beside a girl is not a problem. But besides a guy? It’s okay if he’s your father or your brother but it would be a different case if he’s a complete stranger with no relation to you. That is just not okay. And yes, to answer the question, I am quite bothered with that.

I don’t know if guys are okay seeing a woman in the toilet though. Even though their appearance might look like a guy, you can definitely tell she’s a woman somehow. Does that not a bother to the guys? I don’t know about that. I think my brother would definitely back off if he is in that kind of situation.

However I think this toilet case is most likely to happen in the ladies washroom instead of the men’s. We have more ‘mak nyah’ in this country I guess. It’s really frustrating to admit that statement. Dear men, I’m begging you please stop transforming into a woman. We don’t have many choices these days, so stop reducing our possibilities to find a man.

Anyway, I think even if the trans look like a woman (for example: Sajat), it is still not a good reason to allow them to go to the ladies washroom.  We live in a country that emphasizes Islam as its main religion. We may not really be a religious country that has strict rules, considering we’re living with other races as well. But at least we should defend things as long as we can. 

If we give the permission for trans to use the same facilities as our muslimah, I wouldn’t be shock that in future guys can be allowed to do so as well. “Those little things can add up to make a big difference,” quoted by Tim McAvoy. The same concept as ‘Wala takrabuzzina’, translated as “And do not approach unlawful sexual intercourse.” Hence, even the smallest act of zina should be prevented from the early stage.

I can say this for sure. Trans may have the appearance of a woman, but do you even know the sexual interest they have? Are you sure that they are not interested in a woman? Well since the minister said they perform ibadah and homosexuals are accursed in Islam, so they might turn out straight? But then again, a man being a woman is also wrong. Wait, everything is definitely wrong here. Anyway, just think about it.

If I can answer N’s question regarding the toilet, I would answer it. “If the woman is not welcoming enough for us to use the washroom, then would the government or the agency provide a toilet for people like us?” This is my answer. GO TO THE MEN’S TOILET. JUST GO THERE. 

Why should the government provide another gender toilet? We can be accepting, just do not acknowledge LGBT. Accepting and acknowledging are two different words. I can accept that they are what they are; I just wouldn’t take any actions to level up this group to be special. I might sound discriminating, but trans isn’t a normal thing at the first place.

I’m really sorry and sympathized if their environments made them to accept that they are not men. I have always believed that they can actually change the way they are if they have a proper support from the family and the environment. I have always believed in that. Thus I’m not going to blame trans for being trans. 

I’m going to blame to environment where they are raised and the people around them. Just imagine if you have a little brother that is having an identity crisis. You can change that, but you don’t. That’s where he will eventually develop a girl identity in himself if you allow that to happen. Don’t just realize when everything is too late. Dear readers, if your son or brother has a male genital organ, he is a guy. Do not ever treat him like a girl. Please.

Then, should we accept transgender?

I think if you put it that way, it’s okay to accept transgender. I mean, they are people too and they also have feelings. It’s not a sin to be friends with trans. However, in my opinion, acknowledging them is a big no. We live in an Islamic country, and this kind of thing is definitely against our religion. It is haram for men to imitate women and women to imitate men. That is the most important guideline in Islam.

It is true that if you watch stories about LGBT, or you talk to these kind of people, somehow you might be agree with their point of view. They might be saying that they just want to be themselves, live freely and stuffs like that. I think that is probably what N said to our minister. 

I don’t even know how to respond myself if someone talked to me about being trans or lesbian. I might probably respond the same way as the minister, agreeing on their thoughts. We’ll never know if we’re not really in the position of confronting a trans. However, the main thing we have to understand is that what’s wrong in Islam is definitely wrong. Hold on to our religion, and eventually we’ll get the answer.

I think the bright side of the press conference is that we actually give a platform for trans to be democratic as they wish. Let them speak their minds, but do not simply agree with them. Maybe, we should allow more LGBTs to speak, so that the more we can confront them? The problem occurs if we’re too weak to even confront these people. I can see this is our main problem nowadays. Just look at Sajat for example. Freely expressing his trans without us taking any actions.

And why does this transgender thing become an issue anyway? If we can live for almost 61 years without emphasizing LGBT, I believe we can live another 61 years without making a fuss on this issue. Well, that’s what I believe.

Let’s fight for what’s right.